Pakistan stands at a climate crossroads where its people are both victims of global injustice and contributors to their own environmental downfall. While Pakistan suffers from global emissions, internal actions are worsening the crisis. Pakistan’s climate story is not just about injustice done to us; it is also about the injustice we do to ourselves through unchecked deforestation, mining, pollution, and unsustainable practices across all provinces of Pakistan.

“Pakistan is both a victim of global climate injustice and an agent in its own environmental decline.”

Since 2010, Pakistan has faced a series of worsening climate disasters, from the historic floods of 2010 to the devastating 2022 floods that displaced over 33 million people. Now, in 2025, flash floods struck again, sweeping through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and parts of Punjab, destroying villages and forcing thousands to flee. What was once considered extreme is now becoming the new normal. Pakistan is both a victim of global climate injustice and an agent in its own environmental decline.

Yes, no doubt the climate injustice is real. While Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global carbon emissions, it ranks among the top countries most vulnerable to climate disasters. Our glaciers are melting faster than ever. Our rivers are drying. Our cities are choking under smog. And despite countless promises from the developed world, climate financing remains a trickle compared to the flood of suffering we endure. But to blame only the world is to tell half the story.

Across Pakistan, our own communities, driven by poverty, neglect, and in some cases, greed, are fueling the very crisis we are trying to fight. In Punjab, unchecked industrial pollution pours into rivers and the air, making Lahore one of the most polluted cities on Earth. In Sindh, mangrove forests, our natural defense against rising seas, are cut down for firewood and land development. In Balochistan, precious underground aquifers are sucked dry by unregulated tube wells, while illegal mining scars landscapes and endangers indigenous populations.

“Climate justice must start at home, with accountability, education, and the will to protect what we still have left.”

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, known for its lush valleys and forested hills, suffers from illegal logging, often with the silent approval or economic dependence of local communities. In addition, the unregulated mining of mountains, along with the unchecked growth of limestone and marble factories, is accelerating deforestation, damaging natural ecosystems, and threatening the long-term sustainability of the region’s environment.

Take the province-wise damages, for example; Sindh alone has lost Rs 373 billion, followed by Punjab at Rs 219 billion and KP at Rs 100 billion, yet government climate allocations are often misused. In Sindh, only 41% of climate development funds were actually utilized in the past decade, while KP’s massive climate budget is hampered by poor tracking and accountability.while we criticize the global north for failing to deliver climate reparations.

Unless Pakistan reckons with this duality of being both the fighter and the fueler of its climate crisis, no amount of international sympathy will suffice. Climate justice must start at home, with accountability, education, and the will to protect what we still have left. Because if we continue to poison our rivers, deforest our mountains, and bury our budgets in red tape, we risk not only losing the fight but also losing the land we are fighting for.

By examining all these stories, we are both fighters and fuelers of climate change. Yet, amid this contradiction lies hope to some extent. Community-led tree planting campaigns in KP have helped reforest thousands of hectares. In Sindh, locals are restoring mangrove belts with the help of environmental NGOs. Baloch communities are reviving water-saving techniques passed down for generations. And Pakistan’s youth are rising, organizing climate strikes, launching eco-initiatives, and holding leaders accountable.

“This is not just a crisis of nature, but it is a crisis of governance, education, and accountability.”

This is not just a crisis of nature, but it is a crisis of governance, education, and accountability. Environmental degradation in Pakistan is both a top-down and bottom-up problem. Policies exist, but enforcement is weak. Environmental laws are passed but rarely implemented. Local officials often look the other way. And communities, with limited options and little awareness, fall into unsustainable practices that erode their own future.

The path forward is not simple. We need policy, but we also need participation. Enforcement of environmental laws must start at the local level. Education and incentives must be offered to communities, not just penalties. And internationally, Pakistan deserves more than sympathy; we deserve climate reparations.

But even as we demand justice from the world, we must begin with justice at home. We must stop poisoning the rivers we drink from, cutting the trees that protect us, and mining the mountains that shelter us. Climate justice must be more than a slogan; it must be a self-reflection. Until Pakistan stops fueling what it is fighting, the crisis will remain our own.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.